CFM International (CFM) is maintaining its position as the commercial engine supplier of choice, powering approximately 44 percent of the 302 aircraft ordered through May 31, 1999.
CFM is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran Group) of France and General Electric of the United States. Overall, CFM56 engines have been chosen to power 55 percent of all 100+ passenger aircraft ordered between January 1993 and December 1998. CFM, which is delivering its 10,000th engine at the Paris Air Show on June 14, maintains a backlog of more than 3,500 firm and option engine orders.
The 302 aircraft orders placed to date in 1999 contrast sharply with 1998 orders when the industry reached a record high 1,225 firm aircraft orders. During the first five months of last year, CFM56 engines were chosen to power 330 of the 600 aircraft ordered during that period. By year end, CFM had logged its best year ever with more than 1,300 engine orders.